hefty, a. orig. dial. and U.S.
(ˈhɛftɪ)
[f. heft n.1 + -y.]
1. Weighty, heavy; hard, grievous. Also, large or significant in size, and as advb., ‘powerfully’, exceedingly.
| 1867 F. H. Ludlow Fleeing to Tarshish 167, I reckon I could forgive him..but I'm afeard it'd come hefty on me. 1871 N.Y. Tribune 21 Jan., He is, as a Yankee would say, a little hefty for the ideal lover. 1875 My Opinions & Betsey Bobbett's 372, I never looked well in the saddle any way, being so hefty. 1890 P. H. Emerson Diary 25 Nov. in On Eng. Lagoons (1892) xxii. 100 Rum night this, hefty weather, don't it blow and snow. 1898 Kipling Land & Sea Tales (1923) 135 What are we going to do? It's hefty damp here. 1905 Daily Chron. 18 Sept. 8/2 When an American girl does that, you can guess there's something ‘mighty hefty’ weighing her down. 1908 Daily Chron. 1 July 3/3 Mr. Barnes of New York was hefty with the trigger. 1925 E. F. Norton Fight for Everest, 1924 39 The bucolic bumpkin with coarse features and slow brain fails no less than the ‘hefty’ giant. 1930 J. B. Priestley Angel Pavement ii. 85 It's a hefty commission all right. 1930 Diary of Public School Girl 32 Played in a game with Highlands. Got some good hefty bangs. 1958 Oxf. Mag. 22 May 461/1 Slighter than Hitchcock but heftier than Chaplin. 1959 Manch. Guardian 29 Jan. 5/5 You may protect yourself in respect of the very hefty bill for any medical treatment if someone falls ill..while you are abroad. 1972 Sunday Times 30 Jan. 63/5 On top of the hefty basic wage is a bonus system from the pool of tips. 1972 Sunday Tel. 6 Feb. 14/6 This hefty book, written in brisk journalese, brings Capone to life. |
2. dial. Violent. [Cf. Ger. heftig.]
| 1886 F. H. Burnett Little Ld. Fauntleroy xi. (1887) 222 A hefty un she was—a regular tiger-cat. |
3. U.S. Easy to lift or handle.
| 1885 American IX. 232 It should be hefty, light and of a form that can be easily held in the hand. |